Submitted by Ken Watts
Over the past few weeks Ken’s Korner, with help from the Island Park Preservation Coalition, has been studying Idaho Transportation Department planning documents for US Highway 20 between Ashton and SH 87 near the Montana border. A total of 10 Ken’s Korner articles have been written with the observations of this study effort. This was a time consuming process because of the volume of information that was reviewed. The purpose of this article is to summarize the observations so that you may be better informed on US 20 planning and understand the issues. The observations will be provided in a numerical listing for your convenience and easy use. 1. Traffic accident data (from a 12,342 cell spreadsheet) from 2015 to 2019 shows no trend toward more annual fatality accidents. The rate is or about average for Idaho. The data does not seem to reveal any systemic deficiencies in road design. 2. The same spread sheet shows no trend toward more annual injury or property damage accidents and no increase in the severity of these accidents. 3. The ITD data do not reveal a trend toward more annual wildlife or domestic animal accidents. (My conservation friends believe the ITD data underestimates the number of animal accidents. The ITD data is “reported” accidents.) 4. ITD changed the purpose and need statement which focused on accidents to include the environment and future traffic needs. 5. ITD did not share two traffic reports with the public at the public meetings in Island Park. Information from a third traffic report, that was published in February 2022, was also not shared at the public meetings but the information was likely available. This third traffic report has many very questionable assumptions and used a bogus computer program to predict levels of service on the highway. This report also calls for a four lane road, increased speeds, less access, and road configuration/alignment changes. 6. The “Preliminary Traffic Operations Report” included totally bogus predictions of level of service in Island Park. This is evident from the ridiculous speeds calculated by the bogus computer program that was used. During peak hours, this program calculates ~30 mph speeds in Island Park in 2021. Nonsense. 7. Three different methods were used to predict traffic volume for use in designing the highway. The first method was conservative, the second method used a common approach, and the third (2022) used a very liberal approach resulting in lower predicted levels of service. 8. Island Park was told by ITD that they were starting from scratch on the design of the highway. That was not true. There was a traffic report in the works that recommended a four-lane, high speed, limited access highway. The governor announced a four lane highway during a campaign stop in Ashton. 9. Accident rates on US 20 from Ashton to SH 87 are lower than the Idaho average and significantly lower (3 times lower) than the US average. 10. Can the same company responsible for the traffic study profit from predictions of higher traffic volumes on US 20 from Ashton to Targhee Pass? The answer is absolutely! The more complex the road design, the more money that can be made by the contractor. ITD will likely hold another US 20 Ashton to SH 87 public meeting in May 2022. Hopefully the information provided here and over the last 10 weeks will make you a more informed participant.
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Making Sense of It All
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May 2023
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